Upon hearing this news, my family felt dejected. The Great Qi Kingdom was our homeland, and we were unwilling to see it suffer such changes and partitioning. I felt uneasy, recognizing the ceding of territory was a transaction involving Xia Zhichun, Yan Or, and An Jin.
With the Qi Emperor and the Eastern Palace gone, they no longer posed a threat. However, these methods damaged the Qi Kingdom, which the An family had guarded for centuries.
Right or wrong could no longer be clearly distinguished. The Qi Emperor and the Eastern Palace had repaid their debt to the An family, ending the family’s centuries-old responsibility. I was willing to share the guilt that An Jin bore.
But why hasn’t my husband appeared?
Chapter Sixty-Five: Youth in the Snow
Not long ago, Miao Yin gave birth to my elder brother’s daughter, my little niece. Although the process was difficult, mother and daughter were ultimately safe. The little girl, who resembled both my brother and Miao Yin, was cherished by our entire family. Mother, besides her joy, lamented that she had originally expected to hold my child first.
I felt melancholic inside but maintained a light exterior.
Since the news of Xia Zhichun’s ascension spread, I anticipated An Jin’s arrival. However, over a month after Xia Zhichun took the throne, An Jin had not appeared. I was anxious and began to imagine whether he had been harmed by Yan Or or met with some mishap…
Perhaps noticing my heavy heart, Jiang Yunqiao enigmatically said after a court session that she would take me somewhere to dispel my melancholy.
I wondered what miraculous place she meant, only to find it was a tavern built on a stone bridge spanning a river, where the sound of rushing water created a unique atmosphere. According to Yunqiao, the tavern signified “sorrows flow away like water, never to return,” helping people forget their troubles through drinking.
They say one can forget a thousand sorrows with a drink. I’ve never loved alcohol or its spicy stimulation, but the wine here was different—fragrant yet smooth, without bitterness, like drinking flower nectar. Curious, I drank several cups, not realizing the gentle wine had a strong effect, and I soon felt dizzy.
